MWL1 Fort Wayne TinCaps

TinCaps Game Notes: August 4 vs. West Michigan (Game 109)

Published on August 4, 2019 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


Fort Wayne TinCaps (16-25, 49-60) vs. West Michigan Whitecaps (14-27, 35-75)

LHP Joey Cantillo vs. RHP Jesus Rodriguez

Sunday, Aug. 4 - Parkview Field (Fort Wayne, Ind.) - First Pitch 1:05 PM (Game 110 / 138)

WATCH: John Nolan & Brett Rump (Comcast Network 81 & MiLB.TV)

LISTEN: Mike Maahs & Evan Stockton (ESPN Radio 1380 & 100.9 FM | TinCapsRadio.com | TuneIn)

LAST NIGHT: The TinCaps beat the Whitecaps, 7-4.

WHAT'S AT STAKE: After back-to-back wins at Great Lakes to split a 4-game series before this, the TinCaps have a chance to win 4 consecutive games for the first time since June 11-14. That would also match Fort Wayne's longest winning streak of the season (also accomplished April 8-11 and May 20-23).

IN CONTROL: TinCaps pitchers have issued the fewest walks in the MWL this season, averaging just 3.0 per 9 innings. Fort Wayne also has the best ratio of strikeouts to walks (3.07).

MAKING HIS MARK: Infielder Tucupita Marcano has the 2nd lowest K% in the MWL at 9%. He has the 2nd lowest Swinging Strike% (4%), too. Marcano ranks 6th in BB/K ratio as well (0.71) with 27 walks against 38 strikeouts... He tied a career high with 4 hits on Saturday. (He also had 4 hits on April 30 vs. KC.)

WALK & RUN: Outfielder Jawaun Harris ranks 3rd in the MWL in stolen bases with 27. For that matter, he's only been caught stealing 3 times, making him the only player in the league with 18+ SB and < 4 CS. Harris is also 4th in the MWL in BB% (15%)... Since July 15, in 16 games, Harris has slashed .300/.403/.483 (.886 OPS) with 3 doubles, a triple, 2 homers, 12 RBIs, and 8 stolen bases. In an article in The Journal Gazette on Saturday, Harris said earlier this season his foot was getting down late in his swing, causing him to be late on contact or swing too hard to try to catch up to the ball. Now he says he's been slowing down the swing, with the thought process that swinging at 80% effort is better, saying, "80% gets you 100, 100% gets you 0."

DWS, OBP: Outfielder Dwanya Williams-Sutton leads the MWL in OBP at .412. Williams-Sutton is currently on a 21-game on-base streak dating back to July 5... DWS has been hit by a MWL-high 22 pitches this season, including 4 times on July 22 vs. Cedar Rapids (that tied a MiLB record; it's never happened before in a MLB game). Fort Wayne's single-season HBP record is 23, set by Jon Schaeffer in 1998... Williams-Sutton is also 5th in the MWL in BB% (14%)... His wRC+ of 138 ranks 2nd among active players in the league.

RUIZ BATTED IN: 19-year-old outfielder Agustin Ruiz ranks tied for 10th in the MWL in RBIs (49). Among teenagers, he leads the way. 20% of the balls he's put into play this season have been line drives, the 4th highest rate. (Lee Solomon ranks 2nd in LD% at 21%.)

HUNTHUNTING HITS: Through his first 35 games of the season, catcher

Blake Hunt slashed .192/.301/.312 (.613 OPS). But in 42 games since May 26, he's slashed .308/.371/.434 (.805 OPS) with 12 doubles and 20 RBIs.

SKENDER SPARKS: Infielder Ethan Skender has hit safely in 12 of his first 15 games as a TinCap.

LOPEZ LOCKED IN: Infielder Justin Lopez had a season-long 10-game hitting streak end on Friday, but bounced back with 3 hits Saturday. Entering the weekend, Lopez is 1 of only 5 teenagers in the MWL with 9+ home runs this season. The others are Peoria's Nolan Gorman, who was drafted by the Cardinals 19th overall in 2018 (he hit 10 before a mid-season promotion), Clinton's Will Banfield, who was taken 69th overall by the Marlins in 2018, Burlington's Kevin Maitan, who was rated as the No. 1 international free agent prospect in 2016, and Lansing's Gabriel Moreno, the No. 9 Blue Jays prospect (the latter 3 also have 9 HR).

Check out the Fort Wayne TinCaps Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from August 4, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central